God has even greater plans for you than you could ever imagine.
So.. what does this mean to me (and for you) in periods of change like right now?
Well, first it means that what's happening RIGHT NOW is part of God's "greater plans!" He's using me to serve Him at Dordt. He's using the wonderful people He's brought into my life for His glory in my own life, and I can excitedly and lovingly glorify and thank Him for this!
Second, this means that even though I might not understand why such wonderful people are being brought into and taken away from my life so quickly, I can be at peace with this because as these people leave, new ones will come, and current people in my life may play a bigger role in my future, also. Instead of being frustrated or even angry with God about the timing of this situation, I can be greatful that they were brought into my life in the first place. In addition, I can be hopeful for the future that is to come.
That being said, I don't want you to think that by "greater plans" I mean there are going to be even more awesome and kinder and cooler and nicer and more Godly people brought into my life. This might be true, but it also might not be true. I might struggle to make deeper relationships; I might not have such inspirational and influential people enter my life anytime soon. However, I can rest in the fact that by submitting to God's will and seeking to live the life He's called me to, my "plans" that I will experience will be "greater" because they will be what He desires.
No matter what I imagine, His plans will be better because He is my Father, Creator, and Lord, and He knows me better than anyone else ever will.
And for that, I praise You, Lord. For Your perfect knowledge, great wisdom, and enduring love, I will forever praise You.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
Be encouraged. (Part I)
God has even greater plans for you than you could ever imagine.
I don't remember the original source of this paraphrased quote, but I think it was some incredibly wise friend of mine. Whatever the source, I do know that I've been blessed to be able to share this encouragement with several people over the last couple weeks of this semester. It's also been a wonderful, constant reminder for me when I'm struggling to determine what God's calling me to do in the future or who He's calling me to be with or where He's calling me to live someday.
Most of the people I've been able to share this beautiful wisdom with have been struggling with the same things. Relationships, career paths, and simply figuring out how to best serve God with their lives--it's beautiful, really. I get to see my friends wrestling over how to BEST serve God. They've already made the life-changing, glorious decision to serve Him, and now I've had the opportunity to encourage them as they try to do that best. It makes my heart so incredibly happy to see this.
So let's look at that advice because well, if you're reading this, I bet there are some unknowns in your life that you'd love to figure out, too. Although you may not know the answers to those questions by the end of this post, I hope you can find a little more peace and see a little more magnificent beauty in the decisions and mysteries of life.
First and foremost, I want to blow any wrong idea that you might have out of the water. By sharing this encouragement, I do not mean that everyone should simply sit back, go after nothing, and forget about any dreams and goals they may have because God will just turn your life into something great. That last part is right--if you're walking in Him, He's going to form your life into something truly glorifying to Him. However, I'll eagerly argue that pursuing the beautiful opportunities and using the blessings and gifts He provides us with is one of the most beautiful ways to express our gratitude and ultimately glorify our Creator and Sustainer.
Second, I think you may understand what I'm trying to say if you look at encouragement as a response to discouragement. I think that this piece of encouragement comes into play most when someone is discouraged. Here's how I came to that conclusion...
For me, I first received this encouragement after a recent breakup. Once I pulled my head out of the clouds I'd been floating in in that relationship, I realized that by pursuing one guy for over a year, I had simultaneously chased away any Godly male friendships I had. Because I go to Dordt and am also simply at the age where relationships are simply a huge and central part of life, I struggled quite a bit with being single once it finally sunk in. I'd spend time with my roommates and their boyfriends and celebrate with my friends and the sparkly new rings on their fingers, but it simply wasn't the same without any of that happening in my own life.
And then I met some great Godly brothers at Dordt and life seemed to be changing. I wasn't dating any of the guys; it's nothing romantic like that at all. Instead, these guys share some great wisdom with me and constantly challenge me spiritually, and I love it. I soak it up. And in these last couple weeks, it's suddenly donned on me that I've never had guy friends like them. I want to marry a guy as spiritually on fire and Christianly kind as those guys. I want to surround myself with a church body full of solid, Godly men like them.
Then I go for coffee.. three coffee dates in one week.. with different sisters in Christ on campus. All but one of these girls are seniors. They excitedly tell me about their job opportunities and enriching summer plans, and I'm jealous. I want to go with them. I want to move on with life, but even more that that, I want to keep getting to know them. I want to keep learning from them.
So that's the huge problem here. In the words I used earlier, that's my "discouragement" that I'm experiencing. Of all of these new friendships I've been building, most of them are graduating, others off-campus next semester, and summer is a mere week away. All of these people will be walking out of my life for at least the next three months, if not more. And that is so incredibly discouraging to me.
What do I do with that? I'm struggling to find belonging and longing to build friendships with Godly men and women. Just when it seems like God brings those people into my life when I need them most, He strips them away.
I cry out in anger and confusion and wonder, "Why, God? Why? I need them! I'm discouraged right now, can't you see that? Why would you take them from me at the time I need them most?"
And in the silent moments following my angry thoughts, God's peace overwhelms me, and I'm thrown to my knees as I'm convicted of my selfishness. I need them? Why would He take them from me at the time I need them most?
Oh heck, no. I am so wrong. I don't need them. They don't need me. And I certainly do not own them. I need God. I need God alone. God, I need You.
And that's when that encouragement kicks in. God has even greater plans for me. Do you see the connection? I think these people will complete me. I think they're the exact people I'm looking for to make my life full and rich.
But I'm wrong. I'm so ridiculously off. These people are awesome, yes. They're all wonderful, and I'm so happy that they are able to fill this chapter of my life. But as these brothers and sisters begin new chapters in their lives, I need to realize that they're only a small part of the beautiful life God has planned for me. Because although I might imagine that they would be the kinds of people that will walk beside me for the rest of my life, I really have absolutely no idea.
What I can be certain of, what I can be confident in, and what I can find everlasting hope in is the truth that God will always be a part of my life. Through every chapter of my life, He will remain with me, beside me, and forever a part of me. And in the same way, He calls me to remain in Him. "Abide in me, and I in you." (John 15:4--please check out the rest of that chapter; it's simply wonderful.)
Yes, I realize I didn't connect "God having even greater plans for me" to this whole thing yet. But this post has gotten long enough, you're just going to have to wait for another one for that.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Accidentally eating carrots is kind of awesome.
I'm currently chowing down on a delicious piece of cheese, mushroom, and green olive pizza while trying to figure out what to tell you about my two-day fasting experience. And let me tell you, this homemade pizza is something else. Brian Janssen's one of the best cooks around. Hands down. Although Susanne Janssen gives him a run for his money every time she makes something, too.
On to fasting...
To say I never felt a deep ache in my stomach during my two days of fasting would be a lie.
Moreover, I'd have to say that that ache was constantly there, at least after about six or seven hours in it was. Because, the realization I think I came to is that fasting truly shows us how human we are. Throughout my two days, I was constantly reminded of my imperfections and sinfulness. When I was reminded of that, my thinking turned into the awesome realization of just how GREAT God is. I struggled through two days of fasting, and to be honest, I didn't even totally succeed.
On Thursday evening, I was babysitting and there was this amazing looking carrot cake sitting on the island in the center of the kitchen. Most of it was gone, but there were a smattering of crumbs scattered about on the glass place on which the large remaining piece sat. Without giving it a second thought, I grabbed a large chunk of the crumbs and popped it in my mouth. The instant the rich, cream cheese frosting hit my tongue, I realized what I'd done. No one but a three-year-old and infant were around, but if witnesses had been there, I'm guessing they would have described my facial expressions following the incident as confused followed by extreme horror followed by sorrow.
I screwed up.
To make it worse, I was driving back to Dordt from Walmart with a friend after buying supplies for a Res Life event that night. My friend had bought some carrots for herself and must have been hungry because she pulled out a huge carrot stick and started chomping away. I love carrots. I do. I also have terrible vision, so I probably should have loved them more as a child, but regardless, as a 21-year-old, they might be one of my favorite foods. That said, here's the conversation that followed:
"Ooo! Mary! May I have a bite?"
"Sure!"
"Great"
(CRUNCH, chomp, chomp, crunch)
"CRAP! I'm fasting!"
"Oh! Yeah, shoot. You are!"
Fortunately, the conversation got better as I told Mary how I'd done the same thing the day before but then realized that these slip-ups simply remind me that 1) I'm human and thus sinful, and 2) only God is completely powerful, perfect, and in control. As a matter of fact, I'm kind of glad that I messed up for those very reasons.
On to fasting...
To say I never felt a deep ache in my stomach during my two days of fasting would be a lie.
Moreover, I'd have to say that that ache was constantly there, at least after about six or seven hours in it was. Because, the realization I think I came to is that fasting truly shows us how human we are. Throughout my two days, I was constantly reminded of my imperfections and sinfulness. When I was reminded of that, my thinking turned into the awesome realization of just how GREAT God is. I struggled through two days of fasting, and to be honest, I didn't even totally succeed.
On Thursday evening, I was babysitting and there was this amazing looking carrot cake sitting on the island in the center of the kitchen. Most of it was gone, but there were a smattering of crumbs scattered about on the glass place on which the large remaining piece sat. Without giving it a second thought, I grabbed a large chunk of the crumbs and popped it in my mouth. The instant the rich, cream cheese frosting hit my tongue, I realized what I'd done. No one but a three-year-old and infant were around, but if witnesses had been there, I'm guessing they would have described my facial expressions following the incident as confused followed by extreme horror followed by sorrow.
I screwed up.
To make it worse, I was driving back to Dordt from Walmart with a friend after buying supplies for a Res Life event that night. My friend had bought some carrots for herself and must have been hungry because she pulled out a huge carrot stick and started chomping away. I love carrots. I do. I also have terrible vision, so I probably should have loved them more as a child, but regardless, as a 21-year-old, they might be one of my favorite foods. That said, here's the conversation that followed:
"Ooo! Mary! May I have a bite?"
"Sure!"
"Great"
(CRUNCH, chomp, chomp, crunch)
"CRAP! I'm fasting!"
"Oh! Yeah, shoot. You are!"
Fortunately, the conversation got better as I told Mary how I'd done the same thing the day before but then realized that these slip-ups simply remind me that 1) I'm human and thus sinful, and 2) only God is completely powerful, perfect, and in control. As a matter of fact, I'm kind of glad that I messed up for those very reasons.
* * * * *
At the end of my two days of blogging, I think the greatest thing I realized is that I don't need something like fasting to remind me of how important and loving God is, and I especially don't need to be fasting to have an 'excuse' to spend more time in God's Word.
During normal meal times, I would pull out my Bible and spend time in reflection and prayer. When my stomach hurt especially much, I would do the same. Spending time with God didn't make me feel full like breakfast, lunch, dinner, or various snacks in between would. Spending time with God didn't taste delicious in my mouth. It didn't satisfy the pain in my stomach.
However, fasting from food and replacing that time (and many other times) with spiritual growth and time with my Father filled me with awe, gratitude, and eternal joy. Replacing thoughts of food with thoughts of God tasted delicious in my heart and soul. God satisfied the pain in my heart. He filled me, no, He consumed me with His beautiful words of lovingkindness.
"How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure. That He should give His only Son, to make a wretch His treasure."
So, if you haven't fasted? Give it a try. You'll be hungry, I guarantee it. Your stomachs going to ache every now and then and it will probably be uncomfortable sometimes. However, the knowledge God will give you, the love He will fill Your heart with, the spiritual food you'll be filled with.. it's entirely worth it. This world is not our own; we are not created to be comfortable here.
"For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." -Philippians 3:18-21
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Food? Not today. Just give me Jesus.
I decided to fast today. Actually, since beginning to write this post, I've now decided to fast for two days. I've never fasted before, and this was probably the most last minute decision I've made in a long time. Regardless, I decided to fast today. Here's how that happened...
I was reading the book I've blogged about a couple posts back--A Love Worth Waiting For by Max Lucado. Although I don't agree entirely with everything he writes, the premise of the book is pretty wonderful. Lucado writes each chapter on a different attribute of God that shows His perfect love for us. The first chapter was on patience, the second on His lovingkindness. I read the kindness chapter last night, and Psalm 63:3 was one verse Lucado cited that particularly stuck out to me.
"Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you."
Incredible, right? God's love is BETTER than living. And because of this, I should be in constant, fervent praise of my Creator and Savior.
So how did this lead me to my fasting decision?
Well, the verse itself didn't. However, after finishing the chapter, I wanted to read something in my Bible to complete my evening devotions. Remembering the verse, I decided to read the entire 63rd Psalm. Here goes:
"O God, you are my God; earnestly I see you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped." (ESV)
Did you read all of that? If you didn't, go back.. read it again. God's words are way more valuable than anything I'll ever write.
Okay, so you're done now. Verses five and six are the ones that really influenced my decision to fast: "My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night." When I read these, I literally remember my mouth to start watering. I began thinking of the Starbursts on my desk, ice cream in the freezer, potato chips on my shelf, and chocolate mousse in the fridge. I literally had to talk myself through not hopping out of bed to binge on the delicious goodness before turning in for the night.
Fortunately, I did it. I hopped out of bed and brushed my teeth instead. I have a strange obsession with brushing my teeth, but I despise using a wet toothbrush, so I knew that I wouldn't be able to brush my teeth again for at least another couple hours. The combined inability to fall asleep for the night without the fresh taste of toothpaste in my mouth and large plastic retainers in my mouth put that junk food out of my reach.
And somewhere in the midst of winning that strange mental argument, it hit me. I was obsessed with food. If you know me at all, you've probably noticed that I eat a lot. I've always had a pretty decent metabolism, so it's not really a weight issue, which really only makes the situation worse. Sometimes I skip breakfast if I'm in a hurry (that's terrible for me, I know), but if I'm not enjoying a meal twice the size of the person's next to me, then I'm snacking on candy, chocolate, chips, crackers, etc.. You name it, I eat it. The less healthy it is, the more likely I am to gorge myself in it.
Solution: How about I fast? It was literally the first thought that popped into my head after I realized my food obsession. God warns us of the dangers of food, especially overeating/gluttony, all over the Scriptures. God says the wicked have their God as "their belly." Yep, I am pretty close to that. I've never fasted before, and honestly, I don't know much about it. But, I did know that it meant no eating, so I figured I knew how to start it.
That decision made, here I sit. I'm in the library, Bible, laptop, and water sitting in front of me. I'm starving. Really, I genuinely am in a little bit of stomach pain because I haven't eaten in over 16 hours. But you know what? Physically, I'm going to survive. The little bit of discomfort I feel for the next day and a half will be over soon. More importantly, I'm spiritually being fed and feeling alive. I've been reading over Psalm 63 and encountering other new Scriptures (to me, at least) all day long. Between classes, during class (oops!), and every other spare minute that I'm not blogging about it. I'm loving it.
Tomorrow I'll blog a little bit more about my decision, including why I decided to switch from one to two days of fasting. Also, I'm really excited to see what God will continue teaching me in this next day dedicated to replacing my God of food with my one, true, God full of lovingkindness. Be sure you come back to read more! :)
I was reading the book I've blogged about a couple posts back--A Love Worth Waiting For by Max Lucado. Although I don't agree entirely with everything he writes, the premise of the book is pretty wonderful. Lucado writes each chapter on a different attribute of God that shows His perfect love for us. The first chapter was on patience, the second on His lovingkindness. I read the kindness chapter last night, and Psalm 63:3 was one verse Lucado cited that particularly stuck out to me.
"Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you."
Incredible, right? God's love is BETTER than living. And because of this, I should be in constant, fervent praise of my Creator and Savior.
So how did this lead me to my fasting decision?
Well, the verse itself didn't. However, after finishing the chapter, I wanted to read something in my Bible to complete my evening devotions. Remembering the verse, I decided to read the entire 63rd Psalm. Here goes:
"O God, you are my God; earnestly I see you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped." (ESV)
Did you read all of that? If you didn't, go back.. read it again. God's words are way more valuable than anything I'll ever write.
Okay, so you're done now. Verses five and six are the ones that really influenced my decision to fast: "My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night." When I read these, I literally remember my mouth to start watering. I began thinking of the Starbursts on my desk, ice cream in the freezer, potato chips on my shelf, and chocolate mousse in the fridge. I literally had to talk myself through not hopping out of bed to binge on the delicious goodness before turning in for the night.
Fortunately, I did it. I hopped out of bed and brushed my teeth instead. I have a strange obsession with brushing my teeth, but I despise using a wet toothbrush, so I knew that I wouldn't be able to brush my teeth again for at least another couple hours. The combined inability to fall asleep for the night without the fresh taste of toothpaste in my mouth and large plastic retainers in my mouth put that junk food out of my reach.
And somewhere in the midst of winning that strange mental argument, it hit me. I was obsessed with food. If you know me at all, you've probably noticed that I eat a lot. I've always had a pretty decent metabolism, so it's not really a weight issue, which really only makes the situation worse. Sometimes I skip breakfast if I'm in a hurry (that's terrible for me, I know), but if I'm not enjoying a meal twice the size of the person's next to me, then I'm snacking on candy, chocolate, chips, crackers, etc.. You name it, I eat it. The less healthy it is, the more likely I am to gorge myself in it.
Solution: How about I fast? It was literally the first thought that popped into my head after I realized my food obsession. God warns us of the dangers of food, especially overeating/gluttony, all over the Scriptures. God says the wicked have their God as "their belly." Yep, I am pretty close to that. I've never fasted before, and honestly, I don't know much about it. But, I did know that it meant no eating, so I figured I knew how to start it.
That decision made, here I sit. I'm in the library, Bible, laptop, and water sitting in front of me. I'm starving. Really, I genuinely am in a little bit of stomach pain because I haven't eaten in over 16 hours. But you know what? Physically, I'm going to survive. The little bit of discomfort I feel for the next day and a half will be over soon. More importantly, I'm spiritually being fed and feeling alive. I've been reading over Psalm 63 and encountering other new Scriptures (to me, at least) all day long. Between classes, during class (oops!), and every other spare minute that I'm not blogging about it. I'm loving it.
Tomorrow I'll blog a little bit more about my decision, including why I decided to switch from one to two days of fasting. Also, I'm really excited to see what God will continue teaching me in this next day dedicated to replacing my God of food with my one, true, God full of lovingkindness. Be sure you come back to read more! :)
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
My Beautiful, Magnificent Future
I realized today that I'm a junior in college. Weird epiphany, I know. You'd think I would have figured this one out earlier. I mean, yes, I knew that I was a junior. But today, I realized I'm a JUNIOR. This would be ten times easier to explain if you could hear my tone of voice.
Think with me for a second. Do you remember being a high school junior, seventh grader, or maybe even a second or third grader? Try to think back to some college kids you may have known when you were that age. Didn't they seem SO old and SO mature and SO smart? Well, I guess I am older, probably more mature, and definitely smarter than I was in second grade, but this is still a crazy concept I'm having a difficult time grasping.
I have learned so much, laughed so much, cried so much, met so many new people, forgotten about so many people, and simply changed so immensely much since those days when I thought being a college student was so far away. And now, here I am: a couple weeks of my junior year left, one more summer break, one semester left on campus, one semester of student teaching, and then I'm done. I'll graduate, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to graduate school anytime in the near future, so my learning in a school environment will be done. My college communal living will be over. I'll job search, interview, and Lord-willing jump into a teaching job sometime soon. Sometime down the road, I'll hopefully get married, have some kids, and begin raising a family. This stuff is so close I can smell it!
I'm just so freaking old, I don't really know how to handle all of these previously known but recently illuminated realizations.
Some people say growing up and entering the "real world" is scary. Some say it's exciting. I think I'm going to agree with both of those opinions. Moving away from my family is going to be a change, and probably a scary one at that. Beginning a new life in a new community is going to be crazy scary. Agreeing to spend the rest of my life with someone I haven't known for all of my life is deathly scary to me right now, especially since I'm single. And giving birth someday, well, let's not even go there yet.
Yet, at the same time, I think there's an exciting, invigorating beauty to all of that. In the past few days, I've been able to engage in some pretty serious conversations with a couple close friends and have been both reminded and able to remind them that God's got some pretty seriously rockin' plans for our lives. The most beautiful part of that truth is that as God's daughter, those plans He has for my life are more magnificent than anything I could ever imagine.
By that, I don't mean that God's going to give me an easy life where everything goes perfectly. But I do mean that no combination of a career path, relationship with my family, future new church family, or children bearing His image that I can dream up will be as perfect as what God has planned for me. I might do nothing with my Dordt degree and become a scuba instructor. Maybe I'll end up overseas starting a church with my husband whom I won't meet for another five years. Or maybe, but I pray not, I won't be able to have children and will end up adopting four Chinese babies as my own instead. Who knows?
What I do know is that someday I'll be able to serve God through some job that I'll most likely love, but it will definitely have its bad days. I can already see that through my parents' jobs.
What I do know is that someday I'll meet, fall in love with, and marry a man with whom I can serve God with even better than I can serve by myself, but we'll have some rough days. Through the relationship experience I have and my parents' marriage, I know that is definitely the truth.
What I do know is that someday I'll hopefully be able to raise some beautiful children up in the Lord's love and grace and see them flourish into the servants He's already intended them to be, but we'll have some rough days. My relationship with my mother can definitely attest to that reality.
Most importantly, what I do know is that whatever happens in my future, I rest in the confidence that God has beautiful plans to use me in service in His Kingdom as I seek to glorify Him through a life of service to Him. And this, to me, means that I have the most beautiful, magnificent future to look forward to every single day for the rest of my life.
Think with me for a second. Do you remember being a high school junior, seventh grader, or maybe even a second or third grader? Try to think back to some college kids you may have known when you were that age. Didn't they seem SO old and SO mature and SO smart? Well, I guess I am older, probably more mature, and definitely smarter than I was in second grade, but this is still a crazy concept I'm having a difficult time grasping.
I have learned so much, laughed so much, cried so much, met so many new people, forgotten about so many people, and simply changed so immensely much since those days when I thought being a college student was so far away. And now, here I am: a couple weeks of my junior year left, one more summer break, one semester left on campus, one semester of student teaching, and then I'm done. I'll graduate, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to graduate school anytime in the near future, so my learning in a school environment will be done. My college communal living will be over. I'll job search, interview, and Lord-willing jump into a teaching job sometime soon. Sometime down the road, I'll hopefully get married, have some kids, and begin raising a family. This stuff is so close I can smell it!
I'm just so freaking old, I don't really know how to handle all of these previously known but recently illuminated realizations.
Some people say growing up and entering the "real world" is scary. Some say it's exciting. I think I'm going to agree with both of those opinions. Moving away from my family is going to be a change, and probably a scary one at that. Beginning a new life in a new community is going to be crazy scary. Agreeing to spend the rest of my life with someone I haven't known for all of my life is deathly scary to me right now, especially since I'm single. And giving birth someday, well, let's not even go there yet.
Yet, at the same time, I think there's an exciting, invigorating beauty to all of that. In the past few days, I've been able to engage in some pretty serious conversations with a couple close friends and have been both reminded and able to remind them that God's got some pretty seriously rockin' plans for our lives. The most beautiful part of that truth is that as God's daughter, those plans He has for my life are more magnificent than anything I could ever imagine.
By that, I don't mean that God's going to give me an easy life where everything goes perfectly. But I do mean that no combination of a career path, relationship with my family, future new church family, or children bearing His image that I can dream up will be as perfect as what God has planned for me. I might do nothing with my Dordt degree and become a scuba instructor. Maybe I'll end up overseas starting a church with my husband whom I won't meet for another five years. Or maybe, but I pray not, I won't be able to have children and will end up adopting four Chinese babies as my own instead. Who knows?
What I do know is that someday I'll be able to serve God through some job that I'll most likely love, but it will definitely have its bad days. I can already see that through my parents' jobs.
What I do know is that someday I'll meet, fall in love with, and marry a man with whom I can serve God with even better than I can serve by myself, but we'll have some rough days. Through the relationship experience I have and my parents' marriage, I know that is definitely the truth.
What I do know is that someday I'll hopefully be able to raise some beautiful children up in the Lord's love and grace and see them flourish into the servants He's already intended them to be, but we'll have some rough days. My relationship with my mother can definitely attest to that reality.
Most importantly, what I do know is that whatever happens in my future, I rest in the confidence that God has beautiful plans to use me in service in His Kingdom as I seek to glorify Him through a life of service to Him. And this, to me, means that I have the most beautiful, magnificent future to look forward to every single day for the rest of my life.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
God makes life AWESOME!
AHH! I just have to share with you all how awesome God so that you can join me in continuing to praise Him for His greatness and enduring love! I apologize for the excessive amount of exclamation points you'll probably see in this post. Trust me, I'm an English major, I hate them as much as you do, but I just have to use them!!
So basically, it's Sunday (well, it was when I started writing this post).. which is kind of a given to make God's love seem extra awesome because I get to hear His Word and gospel preached and proclaimed TWICE.. worship him multiple times.. and basically just experience some amazing community with His children ALL DAY LONG.
Here's a run-down of my Sunday:
1. I woke up.. on time to get ready for church..which is rare on Sunday mornings, so that started my day off great to begin with.
2. Went to church--the sermon was rockin'. All about honoring God, something I definitely need to work on and will always need to be working on. Also, we sang one of my favorite hymns--Be Thou My Vision. Oh, Lord, keep my eyes on YOU alone!
3. Taught some insanely rambunctious preschoolers about how Jesus died for THEM. I'm not sure they understood, but at the end of the time, they could recite "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us," so I'm hoping 5 years down the road it will come back from their subconscious. Either way, seeing 4 and 5 year olds struggle with and come to some understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a pretty amazing thing to witness Sunday after Sunday.
4. Our church had a GREAT potluck. Well, actually, they're ALWAYS great. But this basically meant an INSANE amount of community with people of every age you could possibly imagine. I helped a 4-year-old clean up the cookie she chucked under the table and chatted about my excitement and fundraising for my upcoming trip to China with a 65-year-old. Wonderful, wonderful, God-glorifying times. Ah. So great.
5. Bridal shower. This was cool.. made me want to not be single for the sole reason that I'd LOVE to have some awesome baking pans and a cute new apartment to fill with all sorts of adorable decorations. But yes, I'm content single. And will not change my decision because of bridal shower gifts. :)
6. So, I finally got home from church around 3 in the afternoon.. spent a couple hours chatting with my mom. If you know my mom and my history at all, you'll also understand that this was an extraordinarily rare thing to happen up until a year or two ago. Everytime I spend some more quality time with my beautiful mother, I'm constantly reminded of God's grace, mercy, and enduring patience for His sinful children.
7. I headed off to church again around 5 for a mission committee meeting. Volunteered to write some bulletin inserts and bake a coffee cake. Talked and talked and talked about all of the financial and spiritual needs missionaries everywhere need. I decided that I would love it if God made me rich someday. Before you scream hypocrite at me, know that I would love to be rich so that I could give and give and give, and teach my kids to give everything away for God's kingdom, too!
8. Church service numero dos..with my Daddio preaching this time. I've written in past posts about how much I've come to appreciate and love having my father as my pastor. Seeing my dad share his heart with the people I know closer than my own extended family is a blessing I've too often taken for granted.
9. GIFT at Northwestern + seeing all sorts of old high school friends and spending time with some great college friends. SUCH a GREAT way to end the Lord's Day in worship and community with Him and His children.
To God be all the glory for the amount of joy He's brought into my life!
So basically, it's Sunday (well, it was when I started writing this post).. which is kind of a given to make God's love seem extra awesome because I get to hear His Word and gospel preached and proclaimed TWICE.. worship him multiple times.. and basically just experience some amazing community with His children ALL DAY LONG.
Here's a run-down of my Sunday:
1. I woke up.. on time to get ready for church..which is rare on Sunday mornings, so that started my day off great to begin with.
2. Went to church--the sermon was rockin'. All about honoring God, something I definitely need to work on and will always need to be working on. Also, we sang one of my favorite hymns--Be Thou My Vision. Oh, Lord, keep my eyes on YOU alone!
3. Taught some insanely rambunctious preschoolers about how Jesus died for THEM. I'm not sure they understood, but at the end of the time, they could recite "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us," so I'm hoping 5 years down the road it will come back from their subconscious. Either way, seeing 4 and 5 year olds struggle with and come to some understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a pretty amazing thing to witness Sunday after Sunday.
4. Our church had a GREAT potluck. Well, actually, they're ALWAYS great. But this basically meant an INSANE amount of community with people of every age you could possibly imagine. I helped a 4-year-old clean up the cookie she chucked under the table and chatted about my excitement and fundraising for my upcoming trip to China with a 65-year-old. Wonderful, wonderful, God-glorifying times. Ah. So great.
5. Bridal shower. This was cool.. made me want to not be single for the sole reason that I'd LOVE to have some awesome baking pans and a cute new apartment to fill with all sorts of adorable decorations. But yes, I'm content single. And will not change my decision because of bridal shower gifts. :)
6. So, I finally got home from church around 3 in the afternoon.. spent a couple hours chatting with my mom. If you know my mom and my history at all, you'll also understand that this was an extraordinarily rare thing to happen up until a year or two ago. Everytime I spend some more quality time with my beautiful mother, I'm constantly reminded of God's grace, mercy, and enduring patience for His sinful children.
7. I headed off to church again around 5 for a mission committee meeting. Volunteered to write some bulletin inserts and bake a coffee cake. Talked and talked and talked about all of the financial and spiritual needs missionaries everywhere need. I decided that I would love it if God made me rich someday. Before you scream hypocrite at me, know that I would love to be rich so that I could give and give and give, and teach my kids to give everything away for God's kingdom, too!
8. Church service numero dos..with my Daddio preaching this time. I've written in past posts about how much I've come to appreciate and love having my father as my pastor. Seeing my dad share his heart with the people I know closer than my own extended family is a blessing I've too often taken for granted.
9. GIFT at Northwestern + seeing all sorts of old high school friends and spending time with some great college friends. SUCH a GREAT way to end the Lord's Day in worship and community with Him and His children.
To God be all the glory for the amount of joy He's brought into my life!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Live under God's waterfall of love
Last night I began reading Max Lucado's A Love Worth Giving, which has so far turned out to be a wonderful read. The book is all about seeing God's perfect example of love as the reason why we should also seek to give that love away to others, and especially God, in return.
Lucado subtitles the book, "Living in the Overflow of God's Love." Isn't that a beautiful picture?
There's this absolutely breathtaking hike with a surprisingly beautiful stream, pond, and collection of waterfalls at the top of it in Western Colorado, about 30 minutes or so before you hit Glenwood Springs on whichever main highway goes straight across Colorado (I'm terrible with highway/interstate numbers). I hiked with some of my family back when I was in middle school, but when I have to think of the most beautiful nature I've ever seen, Hanging Lake still comes to mind first. It's breathtaking, absolutely the most riveting, God-glorifying thing I have seen. Oh, I wish I could take you all there right now! If I could live near there for the rest of my life, I would be so content. Unfortunately, I'm in Sioux Center and don't have any plans to visit Colorado for at least another six months or so. Instead, I'll try to make you feel and envision what I currently am...
Okay. So, imagine you're standing at the bottom of a waterfall, not underneath it, just watching the water rush down, crash into the rocks at the bottom, and continue flowing out from there. It's a gorgeously sunny summer day and you're standing barefoot in the shallow pond that's been created by the overflow of the waterfall. You're wading in that water, letting it rush over your feet. As you near waterfall, you're getting wetter and wetter until you're finally standing directly underneath it. You're soaked, drenched, saturated, and so incredibly joyful. Now you're jumping, skipping, dancing, and singing at the top of your lungs as you smile into the crisp, refreshing water that streams down around you. Beautiful, refreshing, and--if you're reading this on a hot summer day--I bet this is making you want to go jump in a pool and experience a little taste of what I just described. Are you feeling awesome.. amazing.. incredible.. spectacular? I hope you are because I sure am! Seriously, I think I got chills.
Now that you have that feeling and image in mind, know that that waterfall isn't actually water. Instead, it's God's love. God's amazing, everlasting, beautiful love that will always be more refreshing and be able to fill you with more joy than any gorgeous waterfall ever will. This is God's amazing love reserved only for those who He's chosen to be His children and followers. If that's you, this love is for YOU! If that's not you, please pray seriously about accepting God's free gift of love. Ah. It's so so SO wonderful. Close your eyes. Let God's love rush down around you. Hear it crashing on the ground beneath you. Feel it roll down your body and stream over your feet as it overflows. Do you see it streaming away from you? Here's where you come in! Let that love stream. Let it stream from you to everyone around you. Let everyone you encounter feel God's love.
At Hanging Lake, there's also this crazy rock that shoots a stream of water out from the top of a hill and into the little lake that's also fed by a couple waterfalls. If I remember right, no one can really explain why that water keeps coming out of the rock, but it simply doesn't run dry. The same is true with God's love that's flowing all over you. God's love does not run out. Share it. Spread it around. Give it, live it, love, love, LOVE! Let God's overflow of love ceaselessly overflow because it will never run out. Let everyone around you feel that refreshing love as it saturates them as you're already saturated.
Praise God for His unfailing, abundant love!
Lucado subtitles the book, "Living in the Overflow of God's Love." Isn't that a beautiful picture?
There's this absolutely breathtaking hike with a surprisingly beautiful stream, pond, and collection of waterfalls at the top of it in Western Colorado, about 30 minutes or so before you hit Glenwood Springs on whichever main highway goes straight across Colorado (I'm terrible with highway/interstate numbers). I hiked with some of my family back when I was in middle school, but when I have to think of the most beautiful nature I've ever seen, Hanging Lake still comes to mind first. It's breathtaking, absolutely the most riveting, God-glorifying thing I have seen. Oh, I wish I could take you all there right now! If I could live near there for the rest of my life, I would be so content. Unfortunately, I'm in Sioux Center and don't have any plans to visit Colorado for at least another six months or so. Instead, I'll try to make you feel and envision what I currently am...
Okay. So, imagine you're standing at the bottom of a waterfall, not underneath it, just watching the water rush down, crash into the rocks at the bottom, and continue flowing out from there. It's a gorgeously sunny summer day and you're standing barefoot in the shallow pond that's been created by the overflow of the waterfall. You're wading in that water, letting it rush over your feet. As you near waterfall, you're getting wetter and wetter until you're finally standing directly underneath it. You're soaked, drenched, saturated, and so incredibly joyful. Now you're jumping, skipping, dancing, and singing at the top of your lungs as you smile into the crisp, refreshing water that streams down around you. Beautiful, refreshing, and--if you're reading this on a hot summer day--I bet this is making you want to go jump in a pool and experience a little taste of what I just described. Are you feeling awesome.. amazing.. incredible.. spectacular? I hope you are because I sure am! Seriously, I think I got chills.
Now that you have that feeling and image in mind, know that that waterfall isn't actually water. Instead, it's God's love. God's amazing, everlasting, beautiful love that will always be more refreshing and be able to fill you with more joy than any gorgeous waterfall ever will. This is God's amazing love reserved only for those who He's chosen to be His children and followers. If that's you, this love is for YOU! If that's not you, please pray seriously about accepting God's free gift of love. Ah. It's so so SO wonderful. Close your eyes. Let God's love rush down around you. Hear it crashing on the ground beneath you. Feel it roll down your body and stream over your feet as it overflows. Do you see it streaming away from you? Here's where you come in! Let that love stream. Let it stream from you to everyone around you. Let everyone you encounter feel God's love.
At Hanging Lake, there's also this crazy rock that shoots a stream of water out from the top of a hill and into the little lake that's also fed by a couple waterfalls. If I remember right, no one can really explain why that water keeps coming out of the rock, but it simply doesn't run dry. The same is true with God's love that's flowing all over you. God's love does not run out. Share it. Spread it around. Give it, live it, love, love, LOVE! Let God's overflow of love ceaselessly overflow because it will never run out. Let everyone around you feel that refreshing love as it saturates them as you're already saturated.
Praise God for His unfailing, abundant love!
Monday, April 9, 2012
My Savior.. Redeemer... and every other wonderful name!
Did you know Pizza Ranch is techincally a "Christian" business? Well, they are.. and they even have a daily devotional!
Check out Friday's devotional here. It's really awesome.
And have an absolutely amazing Monday.. Christ is risen from the dead! Find hope.. joy.. excitement.. and be God's love to the world today and every day! :)
Check out Friday's devotional here. It's really awesome.
And have an absolutely amazing Monday.. Christ is risen from the dead! Find hope.. joy.. excitement.. and be God's love to the world today and every day! :)
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